Computational Modeling

I’ve written quite a bit about computational thinking/modeling, and so I thought it might be good to create this page with links to all of the articles.

Rationale & Examples Posts

These posts contain my thoughts about why we should try to teach computational modeling to high school students as well as how we used computational modeling somewhat haphazardly last year.

• Teaching Computational Thinking and Possibly How to Teach It: My first foray into writing out computational thinking where I present my big over-arching vision for CT.
• Teaching Computational Thinking Part 2: a few thoughts about languages for teaching computational thinking.
• Teaching Computational Thinking part 3: Using CT with the modeling curriculum and motion maps.
• Teaching Computational Thinking: part 4: Here I show an old assignment we used to introduce students to VPython and drawing vectors on the screen.
• Teaching Computational Thinking Part 5: VPython = (gets) awesome
• Projectile Motion part 3: Using VPython to get real: How we used VPython in my physics class to model the motion of real world projectiles.
• Bringing Computational Modeling into first year High School Physics: a general outline of some guiding principles behind the curriculum I’m trying to create to teach computational modeling in high school physics.

Assignments/Implementation

This year, I’m working to develop a Computational Modeling curriculum that is tightly integrated with the Modeling Physics Curriculum developed at Arizona State University. As assignments are developed, I will post them here.

1. Constant Velocity Particle Model
   • Introductory Assignment: Students modify a program to make the motion of a cart match the motion of a constant velocity cart from a lab they recently performed.
   • Webassign Follow-up Assignment
2. Balanced Forces Particle Model
   • BFPM assignment: students modify a program to see how a cart responds to various combinations of forces

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